Bengals running back Ickey Woods (30) carries the ball during first quarter action against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XXIII.

Written by

It was a week of a broken soul and a broken leg, ending in a game of broken dreams. Twenty-five years ago this week, the Bengals went to Miami with arguably the best team in football, and finished second. The San Francisco 49ers beat them 20-16 in the last possible minute. Joe Montana threw 10 yards to John Taylor, across the middle and into the end zone with 34 seconds to play, and that was it.

The Bengals have not been back to the Super Bowl. Maybe that's why the memories of that week remain vivid. It could also be that nearly 20 members of that team still live here, and gather before every home game, to ...